Learning to drive a stick

http://www.standardshift.com/

 

Ya know, having your testes removed gives you fewer things to worry about, as well ... ;D

 

Yeah ... because automatic transmissions never go bad.

 

When I am eating a hamburger and texting while driving, it's a pain to have to shift gears, too.

 

I think the shifts nowadays are more user-friendly than the old ones, more forgiving. Hills still suck.

Speaking of manuals always brings to mind Dave Barry's tale of the car writer at his paper who wrote something like "In life, there are few things more satisfying than a well-timed shift," except somehow the "f" in shift got dropped.

 

I was so freakin' glad when our stick shift died a few years back. So, so glad. Why my wife wanted to buy one, I still have no idea.

 

Disagree. Depends on the vehicle.

For example, mine has a redline of almost 8,000 RPM. No, you don't go to the redline, but is there a slight possibility that shifting as early as previously suggested might not be a good idea?

Bingo.

-----
Boom, sometimes the hills are severe enough that one's best choice is to keep E-brake on until the clutch is properly engaged. Needs to be learned eventually to save the clutch and your rear end when someone pulls up entirely too close behind you (and it WILL happen).

 

Dissenting view here.

After driving sticks for about 25 years I switched to an automatic. I won't be changing back anytime soon.

I commute to and from work in fairly heavy traffic. Driving a stick in traffic is a giant pain in the ass. My commute is infinitely better now that I have an automatic.

When I win the lottery and buy a Ferrari, I'll get a stick. As long as I'm sitting on I-10 in a Honda, I'll take the automatic.

 

My dad's partner has a Volkswagen Passat with a stick shift. He could have had it easily with an automatic, but he special ordered the manual transmission. For one thing, cars with a manual transmission are less likely to be stolen because many car thieves don't know how to drive them.

As for me, give me the automatic and I'm good to go.

 

Heavy traffic and sticks don't match.. My uncle burnt up a clutch in heavy traffic on a hilly section of Pittsburgh.
My family has always had at least one stick shift car. Always. It's something everyone should learn to drive.

 

Maybe you were not fulfilling her needs.

 

This is a noted and worthwhile exception. As a general rule, though ...